Elrod Hendricks passed away yesterday, and John Eisenberg of the Baltimore Sun remembers the longtime Orioles catcher and coach:

Six years ago, I undertook a massive assignment, publishing an oral history of the Orioles, the first of its kind. I interviewed dozens of former players, coaches and managers, gathering hundreds of hours of tape. My session with Elrod was the longest. I lost track of time.

He was a unique figure in the history of the franchise. He knew almost everyone and had seen almost everything, and wise as he was, he could comment, analyze, interject, further the story. I came away from our session understanding that, in a sense, he was the conscience of the franchise.

I started watching baseball in 1969, and the Orioles had a catching platoon of Elrod Hendricks and Andy Etchebarren. I thought those were both great names. Both were Earl Weaver type players. Neither hit for a high batting average, but both drew a decent number of walks. Looking at that 1969 team now, they've been very successful since leaving the playing field. An extraordinary group of players.

My thought go out to Elrods family and friends.